There’s not even a sense that you can feel the elements working, so seamless and quick is the witchcraft. On the road, the X5 has marginal...

14th Dec 2006

What we say:

Are you an overachieving building contractor with anger management issues? Then step this way...

What is it?

Oi, stand back, world: the latest BMW X5 is here and it’s coming through, now. Bigger, bolder and brasher than ever, it’s fortunately also better: for all the issues you may have with image by association, this is a very good car.

Despite the monster tri-turbo M50d, the best-sellers will remain the regular diesels though, now offered in rear-drive four-cylinder sDrive25d and 4WD xDrive30d guise. And these engines also underpin the X5’s even more reviled sibling, the X6. Yes, car fans, it’s back, bolder and brasher than ever.

Driving

Damn, the X5 is good to drive. Perhaps not quite as overtly sporty as previous models, but as an overall package, it really takes some beating, with a measured ride, crisp handling and near-total confidence in all weathers and all remotely road-based surfaces. To really venture a long way off-road you’ll still need a Range Rover, but for most people the BMW will suffice.

That 381bhp tri-turbo M50d is very amusing and immediate, with barely believable surge given its economy. But the xDrive30d, now with 258bhp, still does 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds, so is perfectly quick enough in its own right.

For the X6, read X5, but with a more sporting focus. It sounds unlikely, but BMW really has given it a nuance of driver-pleasing edge, though you’ll ultimately not escape the fact it’s a two-tonne SUV. Physics rules all.

On the inside

BMW really pored over every aspect of the old X5 in order to make sure this one was better in every way. It’s now calmer inside, appreciably more hushed and smooth, while a subtle repackaging means there’s more space and flexibility. There’s still a seven-seat version and this is that bit easier to use: even more of a viable family-focused people carrier.

But it’s the generally higher quality of everything you see, touch and hear that’s the most overriding impression. This is the same for the X6, which shares the X5’s interior, although it doesn’t share its practicality: despite its bulk, it’s optimised for four, not seven, and the boot’s far from optimal.

Owning

All BMW X5 and X6 are, naturally, pretty sprightly things on the road: the 3.0-litre diesel now breaks the seven-second mark to 62mph. But it can also return over 45mpg too, in that typically barely creditable BMW way. The 2.0-litre sDrive25d X5 version is even better; trade a bit of speed and refinement (oh yes, and two cylinders) for 50mpg and 149g/km. Buy now and BMW will tempt you with more options than before, enhancing all areas from outside, to within, to suspension, to steering. Necessary? No. The standard one is a fine thing.

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